


Nice jewelry and a boy's corpse

by RatQueer



Category: Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun, Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, Blind Character, Deaf Character, Gen, Nonbinary Character, Trans Character, Trolls (Homestuck), all this is planned out trust me, it's just a homestuck fic based on the book, u don't need to know anything about battle royale to read this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23640301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RatQueer/pseuds/RatQueer
Summary: Karkat Vantas-Leijon has come to expect completely improbable situations happening in his life. He thought himself incapable of being surprised. He could never have prepared himself for this situation - standing over the body of his friend, in a killing game, drunk out of his mind.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 13





	1. Roster

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rewrite of a fanfiction I started writing a few years ago. Hope ya'll like it!

**Stu # Stu Name**

01 Ampora, Cronus

02 Ampora, Eridan

03 Captor, Mituna

04 Captor, Sollux

05 Crocker-Egbert, Jane

06 Egbert, June

07 English-Harley, Jake

08 English-Harley, Jade

09 Lalonde, Rose

10 Lalonde, Roxy

11 Makara, Gamzee

12 Makara, Kurloz

13 Maryam, Kanaya

14 Maryam, Porrim

15 Megido, Aradia

16 Megido, Damara

17 Nitram, Rufioh

18 Nitram, Tavros

19 Peixes-Crocker, Feferi

20 Peixes-Crocker, Meenah

21 Pyrope, Latula

22 Pyrope, Terezi

23 Serket, Aranea

24 Serket, Vriska

25 Strider, Dave

26 Strider, Dirk

27 Uroborra, Caliborn

28 Uroborra, Calliope

29 Vantas-Leijon, Kankri

30 Vantas-Leijon, Karkat

31 Vantas-Leijon, Meulin

32 Vantas-Leijon, Nepeta

33 Zahhak, Equius

34 Zahhak, Horuss


	2. The Bus

As the bus entered the city of Everett, fields of cows transformed into city streets, headlights of oncoming cars, and checkered lights of office buildings. A group of well-dressed businesspeople stood talking to each other in front of a restaurant while they waited for a taxi. Squatting twentysomethings smoked in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven. A worker on their bicycle waited for the lights to change at the crossing. It was chilly for an April evening, so they had put on their pink, worn-out jacket. Along with these other fleeting scenes, the worker disappeared behind the bus window. The digital display above the bus driver's head changed to 8:57.

Karkat Vantas-Leijon (Student No. 30, Integrated Math 3, Ms. Paint Period 1, Sburb Senior High School, Seattle, King County) had been tossing grapes at Dave Strider (Student No. 25, same class) for the last half an hour. His friend was convinced he could catch one in his mouth, and the amount of grapes scattered throughout the bus did nothing to dissuade him. The class was on a field trip to some small town north of Seattle.

A grape bounced off of Dave’s forehead and landed on Sollux Captor (Student No. 4), who picked it off his pants and popped it in his mouth.

“Bro, toss me another grape.”

“Dave, I say this as your friend. You can’t fucking catch one of these with your mouth.”

“Dude, I’m like a fuckin’ ninja.”

“Not a ninja that can catch a grape with his mouth.”

Dave sighed. “Vantas, just throw it."

Ten attempts later, Dave had finally caught one in his mouth and tired of the activity. He slid on his headphones and started mumbling with the music. Sollux was snoring, so Karkat pulled out his laptop to rewatch  _ 50 First Dates _ . It wasn’t as good as the troll version of the movie, but there were no copies of the troll version on this shitty planet.

Engrossed as he was in the antics of Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, a tap on the shoulder made him jump. It was Feferi Peixes-Crocker (Student No. 19), holding something out to him.

“Hey, Karkat, do you want a cupcake?”

“No,” he said. He tapped Dave on the shoulder. “Dave, do you want one?”

Dave eagerly took one, chatting with Feferi about something inane that Karkat didn’t care about. He put his earbuds back in and resumed the movie.

It was almost ten when Karkat noticed something strange: Dave Strider was asleep.

Dave never seemed to tire. He was always on alert and never so much as put his head in his arms in the time Karkat had known him. He must have been exhausted to sleep now. Karkat looked toward Dave’s brother Dirk Strider (Student No.26), who also never slept. He was nodding off, and Roxy Lalonde (Student No. 10), who was sitting next to him, was snoring softly.

Why wasn’t anyone awake? Didn’t this bus have one of those horrible human machines that Dave loved - karaoke?

To be fair, Karkat was also exhausted. He glanced toward the front of the bus. The driver was wearing what looked like a mask. A hoselike tube extended downward from it. Thin straps were wrapped around his head, above and blew his ears. Karkat yawned. What  _ was _ that? Except for the hose, it looked like a gas mask. Was the bus full of gas? What the actual fuck? Was that why Karkat’s body was so heavy?

A scratching sound on the side caught his notice. He had to struggle to even glimpse over there.

Vriska Serket (Student No. 24) was standing up and struggling to pry open her window. But whether it was jammed shut from rust or a broken lock, the window refused to budge. She slammed her robotic fist against the glass. Why all the fuss? Was she in on it?

The glass didn’t break. The fist ready to strike went limp and clumsily dropped. Her body collapsed into her seat next to Meenah Peixes-Crocker (Student No. 20). Her deep voice gasped, “Fuck.”

Almost immediately, Karkat fell asleep too.

* * *

At around the same time, hot pink sedans visited students’ families in Seattle. When the visitors presented them with documents stamped with the government’s official fuschia insignia, the guardians, already alarmed by the late night visit, received the shock of their lives.

Most of the guardians had no choice but to accept this, but a few frantically protested, in which case they were tased, or pummeled by bullets spat out from a submachine gun, one step ahead of their children in departing from the world.

By then the bus assigned to Sburb Senior High School’s Integrated Math 3 Class A’s field trip had long since branched off from the rows of other buses and taken a U-turn back towards the city of Seattle. After returning to the city it wove its way through various roads before it finally stopped and quietly turned off its engine.

Still wearing the oxygen mask that was digging into his slightly sagging chin, the bus driver looked toward the students with a faint look of pity. But as soon as another man appeared under the window, his face stiffened. He gave the United State of America’s idiosyncratic salute, then pressed the switch to open the door. Masked soldiers rushed in.

Under the moonlight, the bluish-white concrete dock gleamed like bone, and beyond that the ship that would transport the students was swaying in the wide-open dark sea.

**34 students remaining**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates should happen weekly.


	3. Dr. E. Scratch

For a moment, Karkat thought he was in a familiar classroom. It wasn’t Ms. Paint’s IM3 room, of course, but there was a teacher’s desk and a whiteboard in vaguely similar spots. There were rows of desks and chairs made out of whatever the hell desks and chairs were made out of. On Karkat’s desk someone had carved anti-government graffiti into the corner with a pen: _“the Condesce loves men in uniform.”_ All thirty-three of his classmates, who only moments ago had been riding the bus together, were at their desks. The only thing was -- either sprawled over their desks or slouched back in their seats -- they were all completely asleep.

From beside the frosted windows, Karkat surveyed the rest of the room. He was the only one awake. A few rows behind him were Sollux, Feferi Peixes-Crocker, and Kanaya Maryam (Student No. 13). They were all sprawled on their desks, sleeping deeply. The seating assignment was identical to the one they had at Sburb High. Some kind of black board covered the windows. Steel sheets? They provided an icy reflection of the dull light from the rows of fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling. It was impossible to determine the time of day.

Karkat pulled out his phone and read “1:15, Tues, April 14.”

Still, something felt off. His eyes strayed to Dave, face down on his desk.There was a silver band wrapped snugly around his neck. Because of his hair the band on Horuss Zahhak (Student No. 34) was barely visible, but it was there. From Roxy Lalonde to Kurloz Makara (Student No. 12), everyone had one on their necks.

Karkat reached for his own neck. There was something hard and cold. He drummed his fingers against it and the metallic ring confirmed his fear. He tugged at the band, but it didn’t budge. The moment he became conscious of it, it became absolutely suffocating.

Metal collars! Collars like they were fucking _animals_! He fidgeted with it in vain for a while, but it was hopeless.

What the fuck happened to the study trip? Karkat’s backpack was sitting by his feet on the floor. Last night he’d tossed his clothes, writing notebook, laptop, and binder into it. Everyone else had their backpacks next to them too.

The heavy door swung open. Karkat looked up.

A human man came in.

He was tall and exceedingly thin. He wore a white tuxedo with shoes to match. Pinned to his lapel was a fuchsia badge. Karkat got the impression that the man was secretly a tree.

The man sat at the teacher’s desk and surveyed the classroom. His eyes stopped at Karkat, who was still the only one awake. His dark eyes betrayed nothing, but his lip curled into a smile.

Damara Megido (Student No. 16) stirred and the man looked away from Karkat. She jostled her desk partner Caliborn Uroborra (Student No. 27), and his shout woke the other students up.

Karkat looked around at the rest of his classmates. No one looked like they had any clue what was happening. Karkat’s eyes met Sollux’s ridiculous 3D glasses as he turned back. He gestured toward his neck, and Sollux immediately touched the band, his mouth slightly agape. He shook his head and turned toward the strange man. Dave was wrestling with his collar, muttering various curses under his breath. Roxy was talking with their twin Rose Lalonde (Student No. 9), their normally humourous demeanour replaced with dead seriousness.

As soon as everyone seemed awake, the man stood up and moved in front of the whiteboard. “Hello, everyone. I trust you all slept well?”

Silence. Even Gamzee Makara (Student No. 11) was speechless.

“Not a very talkative bunch. Well then, allow me to introduce myself. I am your new teacher, Dr. E. Scratch.”

“What’s going on here?”

Everyone glanced over at June Egbert (Student No. 6). She didn’t look frightened or even concerned, just confused. She probably thought this whole thing was some kind of accident.

“Weren’t we going on a field trip?” she asked, setting off the rest of the class:

“Where are we?”

“Did you fall asleep too?”

“What time is it?”

“Shit, my phone’s dead.”

“Do you remember getting off the bus coming here?”

“Who the fuck’s he?”

“I don’t remember anything.”

“What’s going on?”

Although Karkat had plenty of questions too, he had a feeling that Dr. E. Scratch wasn’t going to answer any of them. He stayed silent, but he wasn’t the only one.

The first other person he noticed was Aranea Serket (Student No. 23), sitting four rows behind Kurloz. She smirked, as if she already knew what was going on. As Karkat watched she took out a piece of gum, staring at the teacher as her jaw moved.

Then there was Dirk Strider, sitting next to his ex-boyfriend Jake English (Student No. 7). He looked… _bored_.

Karkat looked behind him. Dave was staring at him, practically vibrating with nervous energy. Karkat nodded at him and gave him what he hoped was a reassuring look. Dave’s rapidly moving hands slowed a little.

“All right, all right, please be quiet,” Scratch clapped his hands together several times to get their attention. The clamor subsided. “Let me explain the situation. Can anyone guess?”

No one responded.

“No one?” Scratch tutted. “Very well. You are here to kill each other.”

As if slowing in time, the room stilled. But Aranea kept chewing her gum. A glimpse of a faint grin flashed across her face.

“Your class has been selected for this year’s Program,” Scratch continued.

**34 students remaining**


	4. Ms. Paint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost every chapter from this point on will contain gore and/or violence from a wide range of weapons, but mostly guns and bladed weapons. Specific warnings for this chapter: vomit

That couldn’t be right - it was impossible - was this a prank?

Everyone knew what the Program was: it was impossible not to. Karkat learned about it when he was four sweeps old, watching the news. He remembered seeing the survivor, a rustblood with an eyepatch and a fedora. That face still haunted his nightmares.

Part of the fifth grade curriculum was focused on the Program. There he had learned the basics: 350 randomly selected high school classes per year were taken to an undisclosed location and forced to kill each other until only one person remained. The Dual Presidents said that it was for security, but Karkat could never quite believe that. The survivors were given a pension and a card autographed by Her Imperious Condescension as a reward.

As he grew, the local reports, given about once every three years, became more eerie. 10,000 students were killed every year, for no discernible fucking reason.

But he had learned early that it was impossible to resist the Condesce. The day of Signless’ execution taught that very important lesson: do whatever you need to survive. Disobeying the government would end horribly. Besides, there were around a million high school teachers in the nation, and if each of them taught five classes, that made the odds negligible. So he had it shoved out of mind, forcing himself to believe that he would not be in this situation.

And yet, here he was.

“Your class will be mentioned in this morning’s news, of course. Since the Program is conducted in secret the details will remain undisclosed until it’s over. What else… oh yes, your guardians have all been notified.”

“No.”

A chair fell as someone stood up. Karkat glanced over at his genetic sibling Kankri Vantas-Leijon (No. 29), the class representative. His face was beyond ashen. It had turned white, providing a surreal contrast to his red turtleneck and resembling one of those silkscreen prints by Andy Warhol.

“There are two descendants of Her Imperious Condescension in this classroom. There is no way she would allow this," Kankri said. A murmur ran through the class: maybe he was right. Maybe they made a mistake. Maybe...

Scratch chuckled. “Don't be ridiculous. I don’t know what gave you the impression that Her Imperious Condescension treats her descendants any differently than the rest of you, but she _doesn’t._ Everyone has an equal chance of being selected, no matter their genetics. The Peixes children are not special. Any other questions?"

Kankri looked like he had more to say, but his desk partner Eridan Ampora (No. 2) tugged on his turtleneck and he fell into his seat. 

Scratch gazed at the faces of the students. “You still don’t believe this is happening.” He turned to the entrance and called out, “I need you to come in!”

The door slid open and three human soldiers came rushing in. They were all wearing camouflage fatigues, combat boots, and tucked under their arms, steel helmets bearing the pink insignia. It was immediately obvious that they were Special Defense Force soldiers. They had assault rifles strapped over their shoulders and automatic pistols holstered onto their belts. One of them was tall with corkscrew hair, one was medium height with a pointed face, and the last one was very short and wore a idiotic, frivolous-looking smile. They were carrying a large, thick nylon sack resembling a sleeping bag. Various parts of it poked up as if stuffed with spikefruit.

Scratch stood by the window near Karkat and the three soldiers placed the bag on the desk. Both sides of the bag protruded over the desk and dangled down, perhaps because the contents inside were soft.

Scratch announced, “Let me introduce these fine soldiers who will be assisting you for the Program; Sergeant Snowman, Private Crowbar and Private Eggs. Now, why don’t you show them what’s inside?”

The frivolous one -- Eggs -- approached the desk, placed his hand on the zipper, and pulled the bag open. Something drenched in red liquid…

“AIEEEE!”

Before it was fully opened, Cronus Ampora (No. 1) screamed.

As the desks and chairs made a clattering sound, other voices asked, “Whaaat?” and a chorus swelled up.

Karkat just stared.

Their teacher, Ms. Paint, was inside the half open bag. No, she was now their former teacher. Or in fact she was now the former Ms. Paint.

Blood splattered her colorful summer dress. Only half of her pink beanie remained, but then again, only the left half of her head remained. A marblelike eyeball gazed at the ceiling. Released from the bag, her left arm, wearing a watch, poked out of the bag and dangled in front of the desk. The seconds hand was still ticking away.

“All right, all right, all right, quiet now. Be quiet!” Scratch clapped his hands, but the general shrieking wouldn’t subside.

Suddenly, the very tall soldier named Snowman pulled out her pistol.

Karkat expected a warning shot into the ceiling. Instead, Snowman grabbed the bag containing Ms. Paint and dragged it down from the desk. She snapped Paint’s head up and fired twice.

The high powered bullets tore apart the rest of her face, forming a bloody mist that splattered all over the faces and chests of the students in the front row. Karkat swayed, lightheaded.

The echoes from the gunfire subsided. Hardly a trace of Ms. Paint’s head remained.

Snowman tossed Ms. Paint’s body to the side of the desk. No one was screaming.

**34 students remaining**

* * *

The students shakily dropped into their seats. Crowbar dragged the bag containing Ms. Paint’s body to the back corner of the classroom, then joined the other two standing by the desk. Scratch returned to the desk. ****

Once again the room turned silent, but the sound of someone groaning in the back, followed by the damp splash of vomit splattering against the floor, broke the quiet, the stench co-mingling with the smell of Ms. Paint’s corpse. ****

“As you can see, Ms. Paint vehemently opposed your assignment to the Program,” Scratch said. ****

The room grew silent again. Everyone knew now; this wasn't a prank. ****

They were going to kill each other. ****

Karkat desperately tried to think clearly. They had to escape. But how? He’d meet with his friends... but how was the Program actually conducted? The details were never publicized. Students were given weapons to kill each other, that much was known. But could they talk to each other? How was it monitored? ****

“I… I…” Karkat’s thoughts were interrupted. He looked behind him. ****

Mituna Captor (No. 3) half rose and gazed at Scratch -- unsure, it seemed, whether he should continue. He looked as if his words were beyond his control. Karkat stiffened. _Don’t provoke them, Mituna!_ ****

“Yes? What is it? You can ask me anything.” ****

“I… don’t have guardians. So who did you contact?” ****

“Aha,” Scratch nodded. “I remember there was someone from the welfare institutions. So you must be Sollux Captor? Let’s see…” ****

“I’m Sollux,” Sollux interrupted. Scratch glanced at him and then at Mituna. Still in a daze, Mituna looked back at him. ****

“Oh, that’s right. I’m so sorry. There was one more. So you must be Mituna Captor, the genetic sibling. Well, I contacted the superintendent of the institution where you both live. That’s right… he was very nice.” ****

Oh no. Oh _no._

“What the hell did you do to Mr. Egbert?” Sollux snapped, half-rising from his seat. ****

“Well, like Ms. Paint, he was very uncooperative, They both didn’t accept your assignment, so in order to silence him, well, I had to… kill him.” ****

June Egbert flushed red with anger and leapt up, but before she could say anything, Mituna yelled, “I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you, you fuckwad! I’ll kill you and dump you into a pile of shit!” ****

Scratch was saying something, but whatever it was was completely drowned out by Mituna. ****

“Stop! Mituna, _stop it!”_ ****

Mituna paid no attention to his matesprit’s screaming. “I’ll kill you I’ll kill you I’ll kill you!!” ****

Karkat could no longer contain himself and right when he was about to scream too, Scratch shook his head and waved his hand at the three Special Defense Force soldiers standing by the desk. ****

The three automatic pistols exploded all at once. Mituna’s body shook as if dancing as he stepped into the aisle. ****

The gunshot sounds hadn’t even died down before Mituna slowly tipped over to the right and crashed in between Jade Harley’s desk and Tavros Nitram’s on the right. Tavros (No. 18) shrieked. ****

The threesome stood with their right hands extended. Thin tendrils of smoke from each of their barrels trailed upward. Mituna’s face turned towards Karkat as a puddle of yellow blood began oozing onto the floor. His right shoulder began twitching down to his fingers. ****

“Mituna!” ****

Sollux leapt up, but Jade Harley (No. 8) got there first. ****

“MITUNA!” ****

Eggs shot at her. She tumbled forward as if swept off her feet and collapsed on Mituna, who continued twitching. ****

“Sollux! Sit _down!”_ Karkat screamed when Crowbar pointed a gun at him. “Sollux!” ****

“You will not leave your desk without my permission,” Scratch told Jade, before turning toward Sollux. “The same applies to you. Now sit down.” ****

Sollux wrenched his eyes away from the scene, looking Scratch directly in the eye. It looked supremely difficult. ****

“What the fuck are you doing? We have to get some help for Mituna and Jade!” ****

Jade, skin ashen, slowly looked up at Scratch. She seemed more overwhelmed with anger than pain. “Mituna needs help,” she said. ****

Mituna’s right arm continued to twitch. But while they watched the twitching subsided. ****

Scratch sighed deeply, then said, “Mr. Eggs, will you please take care of this.” ****

Before they could figure out what he meant, Eggs pointed his gun downward and pulled the trigger. ****

Mituna Captor’s head bounced up. ****

Dumbstruck, Jade’s mouth hung open. A dark yellow substance covered her face. ****

Mituna had stopped twitching. He was motionless. ****

“See?” Scratch said. “He was already dying. Now then, please return to your seats.” ****

“Holy…” Jade looked down at Mituna’s deformed head, “...fuck…” ****

Karkat’s eyes were glued to Mituna’s face, lying between the legs of the desk. His thoughts were completely paralyzed, as if his own brains had been blown to bits. ****

Memories of Mituna flashed in his mind. Traveling to Earth with him. Playing MarioKart against him and Sollux and Dave, and inevitably losing. Him crushing Latula (No. 21) in a debate about GMOs. And then just recently, Mituna’s face when he said, “Hey KK, Sollux’s got a crush on someone.” And now... ****

Scratch said something else, but deaf to his words, Karkat just stared at Mituna. Jade and Sollux were no different. ****

If they hadn’t moved, they would have followed in Mituna Captor’s footsteps. Right beside Scratch, Eggs pointed his gun at Jade, while the other two pointed theirs at Sollux. ****

But a somber voice calling out, “Dr. Scratch,” brought them to their senses enough to at least gaze numbly at the caller. ****

Behind Mituna’s empty seat, Aradia Megido (No. 15) had her hand raised. ****

“Hm? Let’s see. You must be Aradia Megido. What is it?” ****

“Jade is injured. I was wondering if I could help her get back to her seat.” ****

Scratch raised his brow slightly, but then nodded. “All right, go ahead. I want to get things moving.” ****

Aradia nodded and walked towards Jade. As she approached, she took out a neatly folded handkerchief from her pocket and wiped Jade’s blood-soaked face. Jade barely reacted. ****

“Stand up, Jade.” ****

Aradia put her arm under Jade’s to help her up. Her back facing Scratch, Aradia looked at Sollux, who remained half-standing. ****

Under her sharp, well-defined brows, her eyes, which always had a mildly amused look, were now dead serious. She jerked her head and pushed her free hand downward, trying to tell Sollux to calm down. Sollux didn’t make any indication of understanding her so she made the same move again. ****

Although he still looked dazed, Sollux looked back at Aradia… and slowly eased his way back into his seat. ****

Aradia nodded. After helping Jade into her seat, she turned around and returned to her own. ****

Blood poured out of the wound in Jade’s right leg. Her white skirt was soaked in red. ****

She was coming to her senses a little too. She seemed to be making a gesture to thank Aradia, but Aradia shrugged her shoulders to stop her. Jade withdrew and once again stared at Mituna’s body under her. Her eyes brimmed with tears. **** ****

**33 students remaining**


	5. The Rules

As Karkat tried to blink away his own tears, he could feel his pulse throbbing in his neck and his jaw tighten. His feelings, which had been muted by the initial shock, began to surface, rushing through his body so powerfully that he began to shake.

Scratch smirked at Karkat. Joke was on him; Karkat would fucking kill him.

Dirk Strider raised his hand. “I have a question, Dr. Scratch.”

“You must be… Dirk Strider, right? What is it?”

“Jade is injured. I understand that we’ll be in the Program, but doesn’t this make it unfair?”

Scratch nodded. “Well, perhaps.”

“Which means she should be treated, which means the Program should be postponed until her recovery, no?”

Scratch nodded thoughtfully. Karkat held his breath: if Dirk’s request was granted, that might buy them some extra time. They might be able to escape.

Scratch smiled.

“That’s a very interesting suggestion, Dirk.” He leaned forward on the desk. “How about this: we kill Jade Harley now, and make the game equal?”

Jade herself along with the rest of the class suddenly froze again. Dirk’s back stiffened. “I take it back, I take it back. Come on, I was just kidding.”

Scratch chuckled. Eggs, whose right hand had been on his holster, quickly returned it to the strap of his rifle hanging off his shoulder. Scratch clapped his hands again.

“If we’re all settled down now, allow me to explain the rules.” Scratch straightened up and turned to the board. “Of course, there is one very important rule: almost everyone here must die. However…” Scratch picked up a black dry-erase marker and drew a big circle on the board, and nine vertical lines running through it. He added ten horizontal lines running across it. In the first column of the newly created squares he wrote “A1,” “B1,” etc….

The classroom began to reek of Mituna Captor’s fresh blood. Dr. Scratch turned back to the class. “This is only a rough sketch of the island. It has an approximate area of two miles and has never been used for the Program before. There is absolutely no one else here, as the residents have all been evacuated.

“Once you leave the school, you are free to go anywhere on the island. However...” He turned back to the board and drew four X’s to the north, south, east, and west of the circle, “if you attempt to leave, one of these four guard ships will kill you. Think of the water around the island as a ‘forbidden zone,’ so to speak. There is only one other forbidden zone at the start: this school. It will become so twenty minutes after the last one of you leaves it. There will be more forbidden zones as the Program goes on. If you are in one of them you must leave as soon as possible,” Scratch leaned on the teacher’s desk, “because of the collars around your necks.”

Almost half the class had not yet noticed the collars, and they touched them now, looking surprised. June Egbert began tugging at hers.

“These collars track your location and pulse for us. They are one hundred percent water- and shock-proof, and no, they can’t come off. In fact, they won’t come off. If you try to remove them,” he smirked, “they will explode.”

Anyone who had been messing with their collar immediately let go. Scratch smiled.

“We do this to keep you moving around. If everyone stayed in one spot, then the Program couldn’t proceed. The forbidden zones ensure that you keep moving. If you are caught in a forbidden zone after the designated time, your collar will explode.”

No wonder Scratch called it a game; it was fucking outrageous.

“During the hours of twelve and six every day, I will announce the deaths that have occurred over the last six hours as well as the location of two computer-selected forbidden zones. If you’re in a forbidden zone, the computer will track your pulse and transmit the signal to explode the collar regardless of if you’re hiding in a house, or if you’ve dug yourself a hole to hide in. What else… each of you will receive a backpack that has water, food, a map, and a weapon in it. The weapons are randomly designated. Each of you is different, so this just adds another random element. Bring in the packs, if you please.”

Snowman, Crowbar, and Eggs left the classroom and began hauling in large nylon backpacks. The packs formed a pile next to the body bag of Ms. Paint. Some of them were shaped oddly, as if a pole-shaped object was trying to poke out of them.

“Now for the most important points,” said Scratch, setting his hands back on the teacher’s desk. “One, there is a time limit. If twenty-four hours go by and nobody dies, then it won’t matter where you are… all the remaining students’ collars will explode. There will be no winner. But less than one percent of Programs end that way. Which brings me to my next and most important point. Some of you may be thinking that killing your classmates is impossible. But don’t forget that there are others willing to do it.”

Karkat wanted to scream _you’re full of it!_ But with Mituna's execution only moments in the past he could only stay put.

Everybody remained silent, but something had suddenly changed and Karkat knew it.

Everyone was looking around, glancing at the others’ faces. Whenever anyone’s gaze met, their eyes would nervously turn toward Scratch. It only happened within a matter of seconds, but their expressions were exactly the same: they were tense and suspicious, wondering who was already ready to take part. Only a few, like Aranea Serket and Dirk Strider, appeared calm.

Karkat clenched his teeth again. _You’re falling into their trap! Think about it, we’re a group. There’s no way we can kill each other!_

“All right then, I need to make sure you get my point. You’ll find some paper and pencils in your desks.”

Everyone timidly took out their paper and pencils.

“Write ‘we will kill each other.’ Write it _three_ times.”

Karkat heard the pencils scribbling against the paper. While he wrote out this horrible line, he glanced at Mituna’s body, which remained lying between the desks. He recalled Mituna’s warm smile.

Scratch continued, “Okay then. ‘If I don’t kill, I will be killed.’ Write this down three times too.”

Karkat glanced over at Dave Strider. He looked like he was about to cry.

“Every two minutes, one of you will be leaving the classroom. Once you go through this door and turn right down the hall, you'll find the school exit. You are to leave immediately. Anyone loitering in the hall will be shot. Now, who do we start with? According to Program rules, once we determine the first person, the rest of the order will correspond to your names. Once we reach the last person, we start over from the first person. So…”

Scratch took out an envelope from his inner coat pocket. “The first student is selected at random. Hold on a second…”

While Scratch was opening the envelope, Damara Megido spoke up. Like her sister, she also sounded calm, but her voice was cold with a harsh ring. “I was wondering when the game begins.”

Everyone looked to the front middle row, where Damara was sitting (Aranea Serket was the only one who didn’t turn. She just continued to chew her gum).

Scratch gestured with his hand. “As soon as you leave here. So you all might want to hide out to cook up your own strategies since it’s night now.”

Damara didn’t respond. Scratch pulled out a white sheet of paper and unfolded it. “The first student to leave will be Student No. 13, Kanaya Maryam.”

Everyone looked at Kanaya. She looked shaken; her makeup was mussed up and her lips were pale green.

“Hurry up, Miss Maryam,” Scratch said. Kanaya held the bag she’d packed for the study trip and staggered to her feet. She made her way forward and received her day pack from the camouflaged trio, who now held their rifles at their waists. She stood at the open door and faced the darkness. She looked back at everyone with a terrified face, but then a moment later she vanished beyond the door. Two or three footsteps turned into the pounding sound of her running, which then faded away. It sounded like she fell and then dashed off again. In the quiet room several students took a deep, restrained breath.

“Now we will wait two minutes. The next one will be Student No. 14, Porrim Maryam…”

The routine continued ruthlessly.

But there was something Karkat noticed when Terezi Pyrope (No. 22) got up to leave. She sat near the back of the class, in the column of seats farthest from the door. As she made her way to the exit, she touched Vriska Serket’s desk and left a piece of paper behind for her. She must have dashed off a message on that sheet of paper on which they’d been instructed to write, “We will kill each other.”

Karkat might have been the only one who saw this. At the very least Scratch didn’t seem to notice. Vriska snatched the paper and clenched it tightly under her desk. Karkat felt a wave of relief. They weren’t all consumed by this insanity yet.

But… what was her message? Maybe -- Karkat glanced at the map Scratch had scrawled on the blackboard - she’d designated one of the areas for a meeting? But Terezi couldn't see the blackboard, and the map that Scratch had drawn was too crude anyway. Maybe she indicated a general direction or distance. Besides, the fact that they wanted to secretly meet only meant they didn’t trust anyone else and they were certain others would try to kill them. Which in the end meant they were falling into Scratch’s trap.

Karkat had no idea what lay beyond the classroom but he should at the very least be able to wait outside and talk to the students after him. None of Scratch’s rules prevented him from doing this. Everyone might have been panicking from suspicion, but if they could all just get together and discuss the situation then he was sure they could come up with a plan. Plus, his genetic sister Meulin (No. 31) was the one who came immediately after him and she would need someone with her to tell her where the forbidden zones were. Sollux also came after him. Dave would leave before him, though…

Karkat considered passing a note to Dave but his seat was too far. Besides, if he tried anything he could end up like Mituna.

Dave was up next. As he passed Karkat’s desk, a piece of paper fell out of his long sleeves and onto the desk. Karkat’s heart leapt and he moved his arm quickly to cover it up. _Holy fuck, Dave! I sit in the front fucking row!_

But no one seemed to notice, and Karkat slowly moved his arm until the paper fell into his lap. He grabbed the paper. He couldn’t risk looking at it, not yet…

Dirk Strider, Calliope Uroborra (No. 28), and Caliborn Uroborra left one by one. Dirk exited with an indifferent look on his face, completely ignoring Scratch and the camouflaged trio. Caliborn left the same way, but Calliope was crying as they left.

When Scratch said there were people willing to kill, the rest of the class must have immediately suspected Dirk and Caliborn. But Karkat doubted that Dirk would. Dirk had more empathy than most people knew. Dave told stories about when they were younger and Dirk had done something funny or kind, and Karkat knew that he was the one doing all the heavy lifting in the Strider family anyway. And his friend group was a lot more tight-knit than a typical group of buddies; Roxy Lalonde, Calliope Uroborra, Jake English, Meenah Peixes, and Jane Egbert-Crocker (No. 5) were thick as thieves.

Caliborn was the only one who troubled Karkat. Caliborn had no group. In fact, he didn’t have a single friend. He was so rude that no one wanted to talk to him.

Could it be that… Caliborn might be the only one willing to participate in this game? It was certainly possible.

But Karkat knew the moment he turned suspicious he was giving into the government, so he immediately dismissed the thought… though he had trouble getting rid of it entirely.

Although it felt incredibly short, half an hour must have passed according to his calculations. Kankri vanished into the hall, and Scratch called out, “Student No. 30, Karkat Vantas-Leijon.”

Karkat grabbed his bag and stood up. He took a moment to think before he received his backpack. Should he close Mituna’s eyes? He glanced at Scratch, who was impatiently looking at his watch. No, better not to risk it.

As he left the classroom, he wiped a tear off his face.

**33 students remaining**


	6. Caliborn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter-specific warnings: F slur, misgendering

The hall was unlit. Only the light from the classroom shone on the floor planks. The windows on the side of the hall were also sealed with sheets of black steel. They provided protection against attacks from rebellious students like Karkat who might decide to escape the game. Of course, as soon as they were off, this area would already be forbidden.

He looked to his right. There was another room, then another, both identical to the room he’d just exited. And then at the end of the dark hall there was what looked like a double-door exit. At the end of the hall there was another room on the left with “STAFF” printed on the window.

The door was open and the lights were on. Karkat looked beyond the door, where a legion of Special Defense Force soldiers were sitting on steel folding chairs behind a wide desk. Twenty or thirty? No, there were as many soldiers as there were students.

Karkat was hoping that if his backpack came equipped with a gun (it was possible - along with “blade wound” and “explosion,” “gunshot wound” was listed as a cause of death in the Program reports), or if Dave was equipped with a gun, then they could use them against Scratch and his men before everyone departed. But this hope was immediately extinguished. There were just too many soldiers.

One of them tilted his head and glanced up from the mug in his hand at Karkat. His face lacked any expression.

Karkat took to his heels and hurried to the exit. So now… now the only thing they could do was unite. But… maybe there were soldiers stationed outside to prevent them from waiting for each other? Still…

Karkat quickly ran through the dark corridor and went through the double doors, descending several stairs.

Under the moon, an empty football field surrounded by a track spread out beyond the building, and woods beyond it. To his left was a small mountain. His field of vision expanded on the right. A pitch-black darkness spread out - the sea. Small points of light twinkled beyond the ocean. It must be the mainland. The Program took place within the county of a selected high school. Sometimes the location was a mountain surrounded by high-voltage fences, or abandoned prison houses that hadn’t yet been demolished, but for King County the Program was usually held on an island. This time was no different. Scratch didn’t mention the name of the island, but once Karkat checked its shape on the map he might be able to tell. Or maybe a building would reveal the name of the island...

The soft breeze blew in. He could smell the sea. It was cold for an April morning but it wasn’t unbearable. He’d have to be careful when he slept not to tire himself from exposure. But first…

He looked at Dave’s note. On it was scrawled, _head southwest bro, dont die_.

Karkat couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled in his chest. It wasn’t even that funny, really, but the overwhelming emotion of this whole situation was just too much. He decided to wait for Meulin and Nepeta (No. 32) before he met up with Dave, considering that the field was completely barren.

Karkat sat down on the porch and zipped open his backpack. He groped around in it, before finding something like a firm water bottle.

Karkat pulled it out. The curved sheath was glossy like leather. It was a sickle. Scratch said that the backpacks were equipped with weapons. Was this Karkat’s? He searched the bag a little more, but nothing else inside resembled a weapon. Only a bag that contained bread and a flashlight.

He unfastened the sheath and removed the sickle. The blade was approximately 15 inches long, and after checking it he returned it to the sheath and tucked it under his belt. He tucked in his shirt to make the handle immediately accessible.

Wait a minute…

Karkat had been preoccupied with the overall view before, but now he saw something like a garbage bag laying on the steps. Someone’s backpack, dropped by accident?

He squinted at it. It wasn’t a garbage bag or a backpack. There was hair growing out of one end.

It was a person. Wearing a red turtleneck. The crazy hair and the outfit could only belong to -

Bile rose in his throat. Karkat choked back a sob.

Did someone return to kill Kankri just as he left the school? Who?

There was no sign of the attacker. Did the killer leave? Or… was this some engineered “provocation?” Did the soldiers at the end of the hall kill him to convince everyone that some of their classmates were already willing to play the game? But if that were the case...

A shot echoed in the night and whizzed right by his eyes. If he hadn’t been standing at the exit waiting for Meulin and Nepeta he would have been immediately shot down.

Karkat yanked his sickle out of his belt and ran. He moved impulsively but erratically, hoping that it would be harder to hit him, before pausing to look. Under the dim moonlit sky, a dark shadow loomed above the gabled roof of the single-story school building. The shadow pointed its weapon at him.

Karkat threw the sickle at the shadow. To his surprise, it actually hit. The shadow groaned, held its face, hunched over, and then began to sway. Then it fell.

He stepped back and watched the shadow fall from a height of at least 10 feet, ultimately landing with a thud on the ground. The object in its hand fell with a loud metallic crash.

Karkat ran up to it to grab his sickle. The shadow was lying face down, wearing a tank top. It was Caliborn Uroborra. He was motionless now. An AK-74 was lying by his hand.

Karkat felt a sudden chill. He grabbed his sickle and ran to the safety of the trees. Crouching beneath on old oak tree, he searched his pack for a compass. He was facing east.

He faced himself in the right direction, took a deep breath, and began heading toward Dave.

**32 students remaining**

* * *

Caliborn Uroborra regained consciousness almost immediately, but because he’d been knocked out cold by the blow to his head he felt as if he were coming out of a deep slumber.

He first noticed how his head was throbbing. What was it? Was it from getting his head knocked against the wall by that scrawny little fag - Dirk Strider? _That meant that yesterday was Monday, or was it Tuesday… then today must be Tuesday which means I have to be in school… but what time could it be… it’s still dark, maybe… I can sleep a little more…_

As he sat up, the earth and the sky rotating ninety degrees, an empty field unexpectedly spread out in front of him. There was a mountain beyond the field, shaped like a bow, darker than the night sky.

All of a sudden, everything came back. Scratch, Ms. Paint’s corpse, his departure, struggling up the thin steel ladder by the side of the building in order to reach the roof, discovering the gun in his backpack, observing his horrible sister. Due to his trouble aiming, he only got her arm. And then…

Kankri Vantas-Leijon, whose face was a little thin but beautiful, was lying on the ground.

It didn’t exactly come as a surprise to Caliborn. What he felt in conjunction with the memory wasn’t guilt over killing one of his classmates, so much as it was glee. Finally, a chance to do whatever the fuck he wanted. He could kill all of them.

Caliborn scrambled to his feet. First, Karkat Vantas-Leijon, who’d been in front of him. Where did he go?

The gun. Caliborn needed his gun. Where did it-?

 _There!_ Sitting next to him in the grass. He grabbed it, adjusted the magazine, and aimed it at the doors to the school.

As if on cue, the school doors opened and the muscular body of Equius Zahhak (No. 33) was silhouetted against the harsh fluorescent lights.

Caliborn didn't think; his finger went down on the trigger and Equius’s body, as if on puppet strings, jerked erratically before collapsing.

He walked toward the body, but a guttural scream made him spin around.

It was Nepeta Vantas-Leijon (No. 32), rushing at him with a knife. Caliborn fumbled for his gun and pulled the trigger in panic.

Bullets spat out of the gun and tore through Nepeta’s face, spraying chunks of blood and bone everywhere. She collapsed to the ground, twitching and moaning in pain.

He knelt down next to her. She was crying, he noted with delight. He took the knife from her pale hand and tucked it into his belt, before straightening up in time to see the school doors open again. Equius’s dumbfuck brother, Horuss was running into the treeline.

Caliborn grinned. He could play this game. He holstered his gun and chased Horuss Zahhak into the forest.

**30 students remaining**


	7. Damara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been half a year, but this fic has not been abandoned! I just lost interest in Homestuck for a while, but it's back and so am I. Fixed some things in previous chapters, like Vriska leaving before Terezi and a misspelling of Mituna's name. Thank you all for the support, without all of your nice comments I would not have picked this fic up again.  
> Specific warnings for this chapter: medication and eye trauma.

Porrim Maryam (Student No. 14) sat in a tree, watching Aradia Megido run off into the forest. She sighed; one less person she could make a plan with. She was sure that there was a way out of this, she just needed to get someone to listen to her. There were only three people outside of the school so far, if Porrim was able to talk to any of them then she could form a group dedicated to getting out of this hell that would overpower anyone who didn't want to fight.

Damara Megido darted out of the school. Porrim briefly considered trying to convince her, but that was probably not the best idea. Her ex-kismesis was dangerous and looked like she was not in a good mood. She would have to wait until Rufioh Nitram (No. 17) came out, he wouldn't want to fight.

Porrim realized with a start that Damara was walking towards her. Well, shit. There was still a possibility that she could be convinced to not fight, Porrim supposed, although not a big one. She climbed down from the tree apprehensively, gripping her weapon - a rusty dagger - tightly.

“Damara! I have a plan, over here,” she said in a stage whisper, waving her classmate over. Damara scowled and Porrim instinctively drew back.

“I don’t want to talk to you, Maryam,” she said. "What the fuck do you want."

“Damara, please. I know there’s a way we can get out of this without anyone dying, we just need to figure out the school building’s weaknesses and -”

Damara was lowly growling at her as she took out her hair needles. “Shut the _fuck_ up, Maryam!” she spat out, moving too quickly for Porrim to react. Before she knew it, she was pinned to the ground by the rustblood, the sharp hair needles hovering above her eyes. She stabbed in Damara's direction desperately, moving her head, but it was too late.

Porrim screamed as the needles dug into her eyes. The pain was too much to bear as she tried in vain to push Damara away from her, each movement hurting more than the last. Warm liquid covered her face as she felt Damara's weight leave her, but the needles were still there. She clawed desperately at them, pulling one of them out with a disgusting squelch, but quickly realized that was the wrong decision when even more liquid poured onto her face. She felt like she was on fire, and her scream turned into dry, agonizing sobs. _I'm going to die. I'm going to die!_

The last thing she was aware of before the pain overwhelmed her was Damara Megido pulling the dagger out of her hand.

**29 students remaining**

* * *

Terezi Pyrope moved as quickly as her cane allowed, heading north, according to the compass on her phone. Hopefully Vriska Serket could read her message - she didn’t have time to sniff the paper and check if it was legible, but she trusted that her matesprit would be able to discern the message.

She walked, quiet as she could, her cane directing her around rocks and trees and bushes, until suddenly it didn’t hit anything. Terezi drew it back, and stabbed into the darkness again. The sound of gently moving water hit her ears. Had she already reached the edge of the island? She knew it was small, but…

Well. If this was the edge of the island she might as well set up and wait for her Vriska. They could set up a plan, and as much as Terezi was loath to admit it, she would need help with the map.

Something behind her snapped a twig - a footstep. Terezi spun around and pointed her cane at the source of the noise.

“Who’s there?” she snapped, reaching for her waist where her assigned weapon - a spear - hung. It wasn’t nearly as useful as her cane, but it might be more intimidating.

“It’s only me, Terezi,” Damara Megido’s voice said, calm as could be. “Do you need help getting around the lake?”

Terezi relaxed, but only slightly. Damara wasn’t as dangerous as some in their class, but she was by far not the safest troll to have with her either.

“I don’t need your help, Megido,” she said icily. “Go find your matesprit.”

There was another crunch as Megido moved and Terezi was suddenly pushed into ice-cold water. She panicked - she couldn’t swim, and even if she could she couldn’t see! She spluttered and flailed her arms wildly, spitting water out of her mouth as she reached for solid ground. She found Damara Megido’s leg and grabbed it, pulling on her, and she fell in the water too. Two could play at this game. She reached for the ground and slowly heaved herself up, reaching for the cane that she knew had to be there - but it wasn’t. Fuck it, the spear would have to do. She unhooked it from her belt and tried to approximate where Damara was, stabbing blindly into the air.

Damara pushed her again - she must have gotten out of the water quietly. Terezi fell on the ground, hard and breathing heavily. Panic clouded her senses as she scrambled to her feet, stabbing at the direction she knew Damara was in. She hit something soft and Damara made a pained noise but right as she grinned, the spear was yanked from her hands.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, she needed to find her cane _now_. She crouched on the ground - maybe a smaller target moving around on the ground would be harder to hit - and felt frantically for it, hoping against all odds that Damara didn’t have it or kick it into the lake.

“Stop moving!” Damara shrieked, and something heavy hit the spot next to her.

She scrambled away as her fingers touched something plastic, and Terezi breathed a sigh of relief as she gripped the familiar scalemate-headed cane in her hand. She stabbed at an area behind her as she rushed to her feet, finally on somewhat equal footing with her sighted classmate, and grinned.

And then something sharp slammed into her throat. She fell backward, reaching for her neck in confusion.

It took Terezi a few seconds to realize what had happened. When it hit her she let out a terrified sob, which only made the injury hurt worse. The burning in her throat didn’t last very long. She couldn’t say a word as she felt warm blood cover her chest. She was going to die, she realized. With the last of her strength she gripped her cane in both hands and hurled it at Damara. She heard the rustblood cry out in pain and collapsed as the agony of her wound overwhelmed her.

Well, at least her last seconds hadn’t been completely wasted.

**28 students remaining**

* * *

“Fucking shit,” Dirk Strider said, staring at Caliborn’s retreating form. “Oh my god.”

Calliope Uroborra, gritting their teeth, glanced at him. “Is Horuss okay?”

“Ah,” Dirk winced, “I don’t think so, Callie.” He looked at them. “How’s your arm?”

“It feels better, I guess.” They shrugged. “Well, perhaps not," they said with a grimace.

Dirk sighed. “Be careful with that.” He watched as the doors opened and Cronus Ampora left the building. He paused when he saw Kankri’s body, bending over it. Dirk thought he heard a sob.

“Ouch!” Calli hissed and Dirk diverted his attention back to them.

“What are you doing ?” he whispered.

“Uhh… sorry, Dirk,” they groaned. “It just really hurts.”

“I know, Callie. Here, I have some acetaminophen in my backpa-”

The sound of gunfire cut him off. That was Caliborn’s gun.

“There goes Horuss,” he sighed. “Anyways, give me a second. I have some in here…”

As it turned out, trying to find acetaminophen in an unlit backpack in near-darkness was difficult. Dirk didn’t dare turn on his phone flashlight in case it were to attract unwanted attention, and eventually gave up. “I’ll get you some in a bit. I can’t find it right now, sorry.”

They nodded. The school doors opened again and Eridan Ampora marched toward Dirk and Calliope’s hiding spot.

“Shit,” Dirk mumbled, grabbing the weapon he’d been given, a knife. They couldn’t move very quickly, not with Calliope’s injuries, and besides they were waiting for more people.

Eridan saw them, of course, and ran towards them, gun in his hands. Almost before Dirk could blink Eridan was standing in front of him, waving a gun in his face. He flinched and covered his face with his hands -

_Bang!_

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground.

“Dirk, are you okay?”

Dirk slowly opened his eyes. Calliope had a magnum in their hands and Eridan was lying on the ground. Blood flowed out of the corner of his mouth, forming a purple puddle in the grass. His dull eyes, illuminated by the moon, stared out at the sky.

Dirk took in a breath. "Holy fuck."

Calliope grinned, looking exhausted. “Get the gun. We might need it," they said breathlessly.

“Fucking hell,” he mumbled as he grabbed the gun. “Is. Is this a fucking harpoon gun? ”

“Jane will be coming out soon,” Calliope whispered, turning toward the school. Sollux Captor was running away from it, in Karkat’s direction. Dirk tucked his knife in his belt and grabbed Eridan’s bag. It was covered in his purple blood, he noticed absently as he threw it over his shoulder. They just needed to survive until Roxy Lalonde left the building.

**26 students remaining**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I made mistakes in writing Terezi's blindness or did it poorly, please let me know! Updates should happen fairly regularly. I have a huge Google doc with this whole thing planned out, I just need to actually write it in between college and work.


	8. Aradia

How long had he been running? Ten minutes? An hour? Karkat stopped to catch his breath. His heavy breathing enveloped his senses like a giant wall of sound, but Karkat tried his best to listen beyond it for other noises in the dimly-lit area.

No one seemed to be chasing him. He was too short of breath to sigh, but he could relax a little now.

As Karkat started moving again, this time walking, a sharp pain ran through his right shoulder. He grimaced; he was in poor shape. The backpacks weren’t that heavy by themselves, but both of them together were quite the load. After shifting the bags to his other shoulder, he checked the compass again.

He felt as if he’d covered a good distance, but given how he’d been zigzagging, and lost all sense of direction while running, he might have only been a few hundred meters away from the school. At least he was still heading southwest, and the light from the school was no longer visible. That might have just been due to the thickness of the trees behind him or the hills, though. It felt less dangerous, at least, walking through overgrown crop fields.

He gave a deep sigh and continued walking. He couldn’t relax completely until he knew that Dave was okay.

It felt like he was walking for ages before he came to the crest of a hill. He paused to look down.

At the bottom of the hill lay a vineyard. It was half-dead from lack of care, the grapes slowly growing overripe and drying out. Nearby was a large farmhouse, presumably belonging to the owner of the fields, and a large tree. The two were connected by a weed-ridden, dusty old road. Beyond them was the sea, along with small lights that indicated a larger piece of land beyond the dark, vast, horizontal expanse of water.

Karkat jumped as the distant sound of gunfire reached his ear. Fuck. Another one of his classmates, injured or dead…

Something at the bottom of the hill moved and someone moved out of the shadow of the tree. Someone without horns and with reflective eyewear…

“Dave!” Karkat moved frantically downhill, waving at his friend. He tripped and fell multiple times, but he didn’t care. He nearly fell into the hug Dave offered him. The human sure didn’t look it, but he was surprisingly soft. As they pulled away, Karkat thought he saw Dave wipe at his face.

“Do you know if someone is in there already?” he asked Dave, pointing at the farmhouse.

“Oh. I don’t, uh, think so,” he stammered out, seemingly distracted. His hand started tapping out a beat against his thigh. “Let’s head inside.”

**26 students remaining**

* * *

Jade Harley stumbled through the fields, hoping that the rows of hops would hide her from any onlookers. Her assigned weapon - a Zastava M07 sniper rifle - was held carefully in her hands, loaded and ready to shoot at any moment. She had never been so glad that her grandparents had taught her how to shoot, although she had never used a sniper rifle before.

Every little movement made her leg scream out in pain, but Jade couldn’t stop moving. Aradia was waiting for her. She had slipped a note onto Jade’s desk as she left - _go west._

The distant rattling sound of a submachine gun reached her ears. It would have been mildly pleasant, were it not for the circumstances. Jade glanced behind her as she ducked under another row of hops. She checked her compass again.

Still heading west. Good.

She walked for what felt like ages, through the hops fields and along the edge of a creek, until she finally saw her.

“Aradia!” she fairly yelled, tears of relief forming in her eyes. The troll jumped and ran towards her, taking one of Jade’s rich umber hands into her own.

“Here, I found a somewhat hidden place,” Aradia whispered, leading her back to where she was standing before. There was a small cliff, at the bottom of which was the shore of the island. “Down there - do you see that little outcropping?” Jade nodded unsteadily, squinting at it. “It’s a small cave. No one will be able to see us from there unless they were coming from the sea.” She paused. “Getting you down there might be difficult, though.”

“Hmm…” Jade stared down. _If I sat down and scooted, maybe.._.

“I think I know how,” she said quietly. “Let me hold on to you for a second?”

“Of course!”

Jade quickly cocked the sniper rifle, grabbing the bullets that fell onto the ground. She couldn’t risk the gun going off while she was sliding down a hill. She stuffed the bullets into her backpack and grabbed Aradia’s arm. Very slowly, she lowered herself to the ground, wincing. Maybe this idea wasn’t as good as she thought. She glanced up at Aradia -

“Fuck!” she gasped as she slipped. _I’m falling!_

The two of them tumbled down the small cliff. The sky and the ground spun around and around, but Jade still managed to hold onto Aradia’s wrist. She felt sick.

She felt as if they’d fallen from a great height, but it was probably only ten meters or so. Their bodies crashed with a loud thump, and they were still. The area was wet. They’d fallen onto the shore.

Jade’s leg was crushed under Aradia’s weight. “Ow ow ow, Aradia getoff me!” she hissed, and the troll quickly apologized and stood up. God, she was so dizzy.

Her leg hurt even worse than before as Aradia grabbed the Zastava and helped her to her feet. They entered the small cave and Jade sat down, shaking like a leaf, as Aradia turned on her phone’s flashlight and started digging through her backpack. She saw her pull out something that looked a bit like rope. As it uncoiled, she realized it was a whip - not exactly the most helpful of weapons. _What is this, Indiana Jones?_ She chuckled weakly to herself.

Jade looked around. To call this space a cave was generous; it was little more than a natural alcove. Moss and sand covered the ground, and it was cold so very close to sea, but it was better than nothing.

“This is really the best place?” she whispered, turning back to Aradia.

“Well, there’s a lighthouse in _that_ direction but I’m pretty sure I saw a whole group of people over there,” Aradia said, pointing behind Jade. “Anyways, we’ve got to clean up your leg.”

Jade glanced down at it. “Yeah,” she agreed. “Did they give us anything for first aid?” Aradia snorted.

“No. Why would they?”

 _Good point._ Jade frowned, glancing down at her skirt. “Aradia, can you shine your light over here? I’m going to try something.”

“Sure.” Aradia moved to sit down next to her, shining her phone on Jade’s skirt. It was absolutely drenched in blood - mostly her own, but Jade could see some of Mituna Captor’s yellow. She tried to shake the memory of his death from her head, but it was hard to forget the gunshot, the way Mituna’s head bobbed up and down, his brains hitting her face.

“Jade?” Aradia prompted, snapping her out of that memory.

“Right.” Jade hitched her skirt up to her calf. The injury was rather small, but it was very dirty from walking all this way, as well as her fall. “Didn’t Scratch say the backpacks came with water?”

“Oh! Yes,” Aradia said, reaching into her pack and pulling out a bottle. “Do you want me to pour some on?” Jade nodded, moving her leg to be a better angle for Aradia. “This might hurt.”

Despite Aradia’s warning it did not, in fact, hurt, and Jade watched in morbid fascination as the water, mixed with pebbles, sand, blood and dirt poured down her leg. “Okay, stop,” she whispered, and Aradia obliged at once. “Can you tie a knot? I can’t.”

“Yeah,” Aradia said, and Jade reached down to tear off a big chunk of the bloody part of her skirt. She handed it to Aradia, who poured a little bit of water on it. A little bit of the redness from the skirt disappeared, but not a meaningful amount. “Well, it was worth a shot,” she sighed. “Can you hold my phone for a minute? I need both hands for this.”

Jade grabbed the phone as Aradia set about tying a very tight knot around the hole in her leg. It still hurt like hell, but at least her chances of infection were reduced.

As Aradia took her phone back, Jade grabbed the map from her bag. She hadn’t had a chance to look at it yet. “Aradia, give me light,” she whispered urgently. She positioned it between them as Aradia shone her light on the map.

The island was roughly circular, like Scratch had drawn it. It was very hilly, with a tiny pair of mountains in the north. Along with contour lines, the map was detailed, including the residential area and other houses (indicated by bright blue dots), various buildings (there wasn’t much besides numbered dots and a key listing a hospital, church, lighthouse and winery, that was about it), and roads small and large, allowing her to check where each area was according to the positions of land formations, roads, and scattered houses. By Jade’s best guess, they were now located at the west side of the map, either in sector F1 or E1.

Aradia hummed thoughtfully next to her. “We could go to the medical clinic, they might have some abandoned gauze that we can use.”

Jade shook her head. “There’s no way someone isn’t already camping out in there.”

Aradia sighed. “Yeah.” She looked away as Jade tried to ascertain what sector she was in.

When Aradia spoke again, it startled Jade.

“Hey. We’re gonna get out of here,” she said fiercely, looking straight into Jade’s eyes. “We aren’t going to die here. We’re going to escape this Program.”

Jade nodded disbelievingly.

“You should take a rest, your body needs time to heal. I’m going to guard this place and think of a plan. There’s got to be something they hadn’t thought of.” Aradia stood up, grabbing the Zastava from where it lay next to Jade.

She nodded, suddenly realizing that she was exhausted. She looked for the softest bit of stone she could to sleep while Aradia paced a few feet away.

**26 students remaining**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i spent a good few hours trying to figure out how to embed an image into ao3, it's not as easy as i thought it would be!  
> here is a simplified version of the map, for reference: 


	9. Deaths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter-specific warnings: food, suicide (very brief mention)

Dr. Scratch was sitting at his faculty desk, rummaging through some scattered documents. To the north and south of him, Special Defense Force soldiers stood by steel-plated windows equipped with gun ports. The lights inside stayed on because the building let hardly any sunlight in. Five or six soldiers were sitting at a desk facing Scratch, staring at a row of desktop computer monitors. Another three soldiers were wearing headphones connected to another machine that wasn’t a computer. On the west wall was a large generator powering the lights, computers and other equipment.

The generator’s low hum filled up the room over the sound of the heater. The other soldiers were taking a break in the classroom the students had been in.

Scratch paused as he saw the letter he’d only just received a few hours before coming out to this abysmal island. He had meant to read it while waiting for the students to awake, but Karkat Vantas-Leijon had woken almost as soon as they were transported in. He shook the letter out of the manila folder it came in and grasped the thick piece of paper in both hands.

 _Government Internal Memo 2009, No._ _1630508_ _(Top Secret)_

_Dispatched by Special Task Force Defense Supervisor Guy Fieri and Battle Experiment Advisor of the Special Defense Army Shaggy 2 Dope_

_To: Supervisor in Charge of No. 17 2009 Battle Experiment No. 41 Program Dr. Elijah Scratch (April 13, 18:15)_

_We have confirmed evidence of an intrusion into the central government operations system. The intrusion was undetected on the date of its occurrence, March 12. We are currently investigating any additional evidence of re-entry._

_The suspect's possible identity, purpose and any possible information leaks are also being investigated, but we anticipate a significant delay in producing the suspect's profile due to the elapsed time. The Special Task Force Defense Supervisor Guy Fieri and the Battle Experiment Division of the Special Defense Army were informed that data from Program No. 41 may have been corrupted, and as a result we immediately considered the postponement of Program No. 41 for 2009._

_However, because preparations for No. 41 are complete, and because there is no indication that the above data has been leaked into the civilian population, we have concluded the program should proceed as scheduled. However, we will be considering rescheduling future programs following No. 41, as well as implementing design changes in “Andrew Hussie."_

_As the supervisor in charge of executing the experiment, you, supervisor of Program No. 41, are to proceed with extreme caution._

_Furthermore, this infiltration incident is classified top secret information and is to be treated as such._

_Special Task Force Defense Supervisor Guy Fieri_

_Battle Experiment Advisor of the Special Defense Army Shaggy 2 Dope_

Scratch frowned and read it again. If they felt the need to tell him this, then…

The old black phone on the desk rang, and with the paper still in hand, Scratch absently picked up the receiver.

“Yes, this is Prospit Island School, Integrated Math 3, Sburb Senior High School Program Headquarters.” The woman’s voice on the other side of the phone made him fairly jump and sit up straight.

“Yes, this is Scratch, Superintendent. How can I help you?”

Scratch listened for a while before speaking. “You’ve got your money on Gamzee Makara? Oh no, I don’t make bets. But if I did, I think I would have bet on Vriska Serket. She’s a clever one. Well, yes, Makara is serious competition. Of course he’s still alive. And how are you? Ah - the current status? If I’m not mistaken you have access to it on the monitor.” A pause. “Not good at computers? That’s quite alright. If you could just hold on a moment.”

Scratch covered up the receiver with his hands and then called on a large soldier sitting in front of the monitors. “Sawbuck. Is Gamzee Makara still alone?”

The soldier named Sawbuck tapped silently on his keyboard and curtly replied, “Yes.”

Scratch uncovered the receiver. “Apologies for the delay. Gamzee Makara is proceeding alone. He killed Cronus Ampora and hasn’t moved from that spot since. I believe he is sleeping. His weapons are clubs, although he is also armed with a knife now if he’s gone through Ampora’s pack.

“Oh? Yes, hold on one moment. I just finished organizing the student documents.” Scratch ruffled through the student files. “Yes, Gamzee Makara. He doesn’t appear to be the controversial type. No anti-Condesce actions or statements, although he does have an anger problem. Most of his classmates seem to like him.”

Scratch raised his eyebrow at the next thing the caller said. He adjusted his suit with his free hand.

“That can’t be. I mean, that occurred in March. I did receive the report. But if that’s true, then right now… yes. The officials are always prone to exaggeration. Besides, these are high school kids. Then they would have known we were listening in on them. Right now there are no signs that any of the students know this. Yes. Very well then. Goodbye.”

Scratch took a deep breath as he hung up, shaking his head. He put the files for Gamzee Makara back and checked his watch. “It’s time to announce the deaths.”

* * *

The Prospit Island lighthouse was old but durable. It faced west with a tower several meters high, and a single-story brick building had been built as an annex to the tower on its other side. The kitchen-living room was immediately east of the tower, and further east was the storage room and bathroom. Further down were two bedrooms, along with another storage room right near the front entrance. A hall running on the south side of the building connected these rooms.

In the corner of the main room, which was at least as large as the classroom they had awoken in, was a small table that looked out of place. Jane Egbert-Crocker was sitting on one of the stools around it, slumped over the white tabletop as if she were dozing off. 

Dirk’s group of four had found this lighthouse while exploring and decided to set up there. Right behind Jane, Calliope Uroborra and Jake English were busily preparing the preserved food in front of the stove, where solid fuel was lit up in place of the shut-off gas.

The meal was a retort stew mixed with canned vegetables. Above them were planks of wood they found in the storage room and hastily hammered into the frosted glass window, which let in the dull light of the cloudy sky. The planks were there to keep intruders out. As soon as they had arrived Dirk and Jane immediately sealed off every entrance and exit from the inside of the building. The front entrance was the only way in or out.

Jane had a clear view of the other side of the room where there was a writing desk. The fax machine that had been there when they first entered was torn apart and the desk was now covered in red and white cables connecting a laptop, Eridan’s partially disassembled cellphone, and a car battery. All that was displayed on the computer screen was a loading bar. 

To the left of it, Dirk Strider was sitting on a sofa placed against the wall. The table that had been in front of him was now being used to barricade one of the doors. Next to the sofa, the kitchen’s side door connected to the hall that led to the front entrance. On Jane’s right, the far door on the other side led to the bottom of the tower, and the first several steel stairs leading up to the lantern room were visible.

Calliope gently shook Jane’s shoulder, waking her up and offering her some of the stew. She took it gladly.

“Good morning everyone.”

It was Scratch’s voice. The speakers were impossible to locate, but his voice came through loud and clear, aside from some metallic distortion. The speakers were probably installed not only in the school but also all over the island.

“This is your instructor Dr. Scratch. It is now 6 AM. How are you all doing?"

Before she could grimace, Jane Crocker’s jaw dropped, astonished by Scratch’s cheerful tone. She exchanged a shocked look with the other people in her group. Jake and Calliope looked just as surprised as her, but Dirk had pulled out a piece of paper to write things down. He wasn’t looking at them.

“Well then, I will now announce the names of your dead friends. First, Cronus and Eridan Ampora, students 1 and 2, respectively. Next, No. 14 Porrim Maryam, No. 17 Rufioh Nitram, No. 18 Tavros Nitram, No. 19 Feferi Peixes-Crocker, No. 21 Latula Pyrope and her sister, No. 22 Terezi Pyrope, No. 23 Aranea Serket, No. 29 Kankri Vantas-Leijon, No. 32 Nepeta Vantas-Leijon, and last but not least students 33 and 34, Equius and Horuss Zahhak.”

The list of names meant that their chances of survival were slightly increased, but that thought barely occurred to Jane. She felt dizzy. The faces of her dead classmates drifted through her head and disappeared.

They were all killed, which meant that there were killers out there. Unless some of them had committed suicide.

It was continuing. The Program was undeniably in progress.

“Good morning to the rest of you. I’m very impressed. Now then, the forbidden zones. I will announce their areas and times. Take out your maps and mark them.”

Dirk held up his own map, which was already out and ready to mark forbidden zones. Jane grabbed her own from her pack.

“At 8 AM, two hours from now, these three zones will become forbidden: F2, B4, and E1.”

The lighthouse wasn’t in Scratch’s forbidden zones. But their location could be included in the next announcement.

“Right,” Dirk said quietly, setting down his school notebook. Written in it was a list of names. Their dead classmates. Jane swallowed a lump in her throat. She walked over to Dirk, stew entirely forgotten.

_Cronus - ??_

_Eridan - Calliope_

_Porrim - ??_

_Rufioh - ??_

_Tavros - ??_

_Feferi - ??_

_Latula - ??_

_Terezi - ??_

_Aranea - ??_

_Kankri - Caliborn_

_Nepeta - Caliborn_

_Equius - Caliborn_

_Horuss - Caliborn (probably)_

“Jade is still alive,” she remarked aloud. Maybe someone was helping her?

“Terezi isn’t,” Calliope replied. “Who could have killed _Terezi?”_

“Hmm. Maybe someone with a gun? It would probably have to be a long-distance weapon, it would be tough to beat her in hand-to-hand combat,” Dirk mumbled, checking his phone. He perked up. “It should be done by now.”

He sat down at the writing desk and the rest of the group crowded around him. The monitor display on the laptop had been left on, with the computer screen display turned off.

Dirk grinned, pressing down on the spacebar. The screen came back to life, revealing the login screen.

“Just a switch of vowels. Too simple for someone to guess,” he said, more to himself than to them.

“Are you in? For real?” Jake asked. Dirk nodded.

“Now we can stop this fucking Program.”

**19 students remaining**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going to be completely honest: I forgot about Cronus when I was writing the Google doc. Had to kill him off somehow!  
> Does this count as a cliffhanger? Idk. All I know is that I'm having a lot of fun writing this.


End file.
